ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: Pakistan imported Rs8.4 billion worth of wood and wood products in 1999-2000 due to the significant increase in deforestation, a study by Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) revealed.

On the other hand its total exports of wood and wood related products stood at mere Rs381.4 million.

The study said forests in Pakistan were not enough to meet the nation’s demand of wood and wood based products. In 1998, Pakistan’s wood consumption was 33,018 thousand cubic metres and total wood produced was only 350 thousand cubic metres.

According to an estimate, forest area decreased from 141,530 square km in 1880 to 67,310 in 1980; a decrease of 52 per cent in hundred years.

During the 1970’s, the study estimated an annual decrease of 1.5 per cent per year and in 90s it was reported that Pakistan had been loosing some 7,000-9,000 hectare of forests each year.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report (1998) provides the most recent estimate of annual deforestation. It reported that between 1990-95 Pakistan experienced deforestation at the rate of 1.1 per cent (55,000 hectare) annually.

This presents a rather grim picture for the future of the sector. In fact, if nothing is done to check this process the remaining forests will soon disappear, the report said.

Pakistan has 4.2 million hectare covered by forests, which is equivalent to 4.8 per cent of the total land area. Most of these forests are found in the northern part of the country (40 per cent in the NWFP, 15.7 per cent in Northern Areas, and 6.5 per cent in the AJK).

The total forest area of Pakistan is much lower when compared with other parts of the world, 27 per cent for the developed countries and 26 per cent for the developing countries.

Pakistan has only 0.03 hectare of forest per capita while corresponding figures for the developed and the developing countries are 1.07 and 0.50 respectively.

With the population growth rate of 2.6 per cent, forest per capita would decline more than one’s imagination in days to come.